The accuracy of firing from Russian howitzers has reached the highest level in the world - 96%.

This was reported by RIA Novosti with reference to the press service of Rostec.

This result was achieved thanks to the creation of new guided artillery shells and automated fire control systems.

"The combination of guided missiles Krasnopol, Gran 'and Kitolov-2 (Instrument Design Bureau) developed by the enterprises of the High-Precision Complexes holding company (Instrument Design Bureau) with new automated fire control systems (VNII Signal) today allows to ensure the destruction of enemy targets by the Russian cannon artillery with a probability of up to 96%, ”the state corporation said.

At the moment, among foreign artillery ammunition, the American M982 Excalibur 155 mm projectile is considered the most accurate in the world.

This model implements an inertial guidance system with satellite correction, which allows you to hit targets with an efficiency of 92%.

However, the M982 Excalibur projectile, unlike Russian ammunition, is not capable of destroying enemy moving objects.

Without sighting

As noted in the Tula Instrument Design Bureau (KBP) named after academician A.G.

Shipunov, a feature of domestic guided artillery ammunition is the use of a semi-active laser homing system.

According to KBP calculations, the use of such weapons in the theater of operations (theater of operations) can reduce the number of weapons involved by two to three times, significantly reduce the consumption of ammunition and the cost of completing a combat mission.

  • Self-propelled howitzers of the RF Armed Forces

  • © Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

As Nikolai Khokhlov, First Deputy Managing Director of the KBP, explained earlier in an interview with Nezavisimaya Voennoy Obozreniye, one of the guarantees of the high accuracy of Russian artillery ammunition is the quality of laser illumination, which is carried out either by a soldier at a distance of up to 7 km, or by a UAV.

According to the designer, according to the criterion "efficiency - cost" such a projectile is the most suitable for a theater of operations.

Modern means of illumination of enemy objects make it possible to conduct accurate shooting in difficult weather conditions, in a smoke screen and when the enemy is staging various kinds of interference, including electronic ones.

At the same time, the laser beam has limited passability in low cloud conditions.

As Khokhlov said, a different approach to target designation for cannon artillery is common in the United States.

In particular, the American Excalibur projectile is devoid of a homing head - its high accuracy is achieved through the use of GPS signals.

However, such ammunition has low noise immunity.

Also, when firing the Excalibur, it is impossible to implement the “fire-forget” principle, which allows the combat crew of the artillery system to change position after opening fire.

According to Khokhlov, in the end, the United States came to the conclusion that it was necessary to create a modification of the Excalibur with a semi-active laser homing head.

“The only effective means of direct destruction today is a laser-illuminated projectile.

Of course, if you put two sets of "Krasnopol" on the battlefield, where there is a lot of fire and smoke, then there will be no result, because even in the optics you will not see anything.

And if you selectively hit targets, then it is better to find a weapon, ”Khokhlov said.

According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation for 2018, the accuracy of the upgraded design of the Krasnopol design bureau mentioned by the designer reached 95%.

In this case, the ammunition can be used by D-20, 2S3M "Akatsia", 2S19 "Msta-S" and 2A65 "Msta-B" howitzers and the promising self-propelled gun "Koalitsiya-SV".

In the process of improvement, Tula specialists increased the range of destruction in Krasnopol from 25 to 30 km, the mass of the warhead - from 20.5 to 26 kg, the weight of the explosive - from 6.3 to 11 kg, and the height of combat use - from 3 to 4 , 5 km.

Targeting for Krasnopol is carried out by means of the Malachite portable automated fire control system, which includes a laser rangefinder.

A few seconds before approaching an enemy object, the projectile goes into homing mode, focusing on the direction of the laser beam.

Russian military personnel used Krasnopol in Syria in January 2018 as part of an operation to eliminate a bandit group that attacked the Khmeimim airbase.

The impact of this shell exploded a warehouse of terrorists' drones.

The export version of this ammunition is the 155 mm Krasnopol-M2.

It is designed for firing from Western artillery systems: the American M109A1-6, the South African G5 / G6, the Swedish FH77 and the French TRF1.

  • Destruction of saboteurs attacking the Khmeimim airbase in Syria

  • © Frame: video of the Ministry of Defense of Russia

Like its domestic model, Krasnopol-M2 is capable of hitting targets without zeroing at any time of the day from closed and open firing positions.

The projectile demonstrates high firing accuracy at moving enemy targets at a distance of 12 km.

At present, Krasnopol-M2 is undergoing state tests along with the Gran 'guided mine.

This is another high-precision ammunition developed by KBP.

It is designed to fire 120 mm mortars.

"Edge" is also guided by the "Malachite" fire control system.

The maximum range of destruction of targets with this product is estimated by Tula designers at 9 km.

According to experts, this figure is very high for mortar weapons, most often firing within 4-5 km.

“When used in combat, the Fringe complex strikes day and night with the first shot without zeroing in both stationary and moving targets.

Targets located at a distance of up to 300 m from each other are hit not only with the use of a single firing angle, but also without changing the firing settings set in the mine, ”the KBP website says.

For precise firing from towed and self-propelled artillery systems of 122 mm caliber, the Russian army uses ammunition from the Kitolov family.

The most advanced projectile at the moment is the Kitolov-2M with a maximum range of 13.5 km.

It is used to destroy armored vehicles, including moving vehicles, and various engineering structures.

“The use of the Kitolov-2M complex significantly increases the effectiveness of battalion artillery, firstly, due to a direct hit on the target of a guided projectile of a much greater power of its warhead compared to the standard OFS (high-explosive fragmentation projectile. -

RT

), and, in -second, it becomes possible to successfully hit tanks, including moving ones, ”the KBP reports.

Catch up and overtake

As military expert Alexei Leonkov said in an interview with RT, initially laser guidance was used in aviation to engage air-to-air or air-to-ground missiles.

According to him, this technology has certain drawbacks, but today this method of hitting targets, if we talk about barrel artillery, remains the most effective.

“For the destruction of targets with modern artillery ammunition, it is, of course, required to know the initial coordinates of the target of the intended defeat.

Laser illumination is used in the final segment, allowing you to correct the flight of the projectile.

Now this function is widely performed by drones, ”Leonkov explained.

  • Shooting from towed howitzers

  • © Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

As the expert said, the development of laser illumination technology began back in the Soviet period. 

“The Americans chose a different path and relied on the GPS system.

This binding really helps to accurately hit targets and shoot a little further than domestic complexes can.

However, one cannot rely entirely on satellites: not all countries have access to the orbital constellation.

In addition, for a long time there have been systems that make it possible to disable satellites, ”Leonkov emphasized.

According to the interlocutor of RT, further improvement of guided domestic projectiles will significantly increase the combat potential of barrel artillery, primarily the Coalition-SV self-propelled guns, which are now being tested.

The new domestic artillery system can fire at a range of up to 70 km and produce up to 23 rounds per minute.

In turn, a military observer, retired colonel Viktor Baranets, in a conversation with RT, noted that in the 1990s, Russian guided artillery weapons systems lagged behind Western counterparts in efficiency.

However, thanks to the modernization program and the creation of new means of destruction, our country managed to catch up, and then bypass the United States in terms of hitting accuracy.

“It was crucial that the Americans relied entirely on their own GPS system.

As a result, their efficiency remained at the level of 91-92%.

And Russian specialists have successfully completed their task - to surpass the accuracy of the artillery weapons that the United States has, ”Baranets concluded.